The present invention relates to the collection end characterization of residues, particularly to a field kit which enables a consistent and reliable method for field analysis of various chemicals high explosives and chemical weapon related materials, and more particularly to a airtight, lightweight, field kit containing Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) syringes in a hermetically sealed containers or tubes having sample ports therein, and equipment for enabling the use of SPME syringes.
Over the last decade extensive efforts have been carried out for development methods for characterization of various chemicals, particularly for the characterization of high explosives, chemical weapons, and biological weapons. These activities have centered on the collection, isolation, and concentration of trace amounts of these chemical residues in air, soil, vegetation, swipe, and liquid samples. Considerable resources have been applied to developing consistent and reliable methods for field analysis of high explosives and chemical weapons related materials.
Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) is a widely recognized approach for the collection of various chemical residues, and SPME fibers and syringes are commercially available. SPME requires no solvents, is sensitive to low nanogram signature species, and can be repeatedly used in the field for the characterization of complex samples. A significant attribute of SPME fibers is their exceedingly high collection efficiencies. No chemical pretreatment or solvent extractions are necessary when using SPME fibers with GC or GC-MS instrumentation. However, there are some inherent problems with field SPME. SPME fibers tend to be very fragile and will break with the slightest impact. This makes transportation of SPME difficult in the field. Also, since SPME fibers are used for the sampling of potentially hazardous materials, the fibers need to be transported in a container that would prevent collected potentially lethal materials from contaminating the surroundings during transportation, as well as prevent cross contamination of different samples.
The field kit of the present invention provides a solution to the above-referenced problems and enables effect use of SPME for field analysis. The kit includes an air tight container in which is located a number of hermetically sealed individual transport containers or tubes within which are located SPME syringes, with the fiber of each syringe provided with a protective cap. The transport container or tubes each include a sampling port wherein material collected by one SPME fiber located within the transport container or tube can be transferred to another SPME fiber via the sampling port. The kit also contains a device for extracting and/or inserting the protective cap on the SPME fiber, as well as various spare parts, protective gloves and an instruction manual.